Ohio State track and field: Confidence fuels Manning

Hurdler believes she’ll make U.S. Olympic team

Enlarge ImageRequest to buy this photoNeal C. Lauron | DISPATCHChristina Manning of Ohio State, the Big Ten’s Female Athlete of the Year, will compete today in the 100-meter hurdles at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials in Eugene, Ore.

Karen Dennis knows special talent. She has been coaching women’s track and field for 30 years, the past six at Ohio State. Four of her college athletes became Olympians.

She expects OSU senior Christina Manning to be the fifth.

“I see Christina as probably the next ‘best hurdler’ in the U.S.,” Dennis said. “I also see her on the Olympic podium, if not this year, then in 2016.”

Why wait four years?

Thirteen days after winning an NCAA championship in the 100-meter hurdles, Manning competes today in that event at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials in Eugene, Ore.

“I believe I should make the (Olympic) team, to be honest,” Manning said. “I can’t see myself not making the team. I feel really good. I’m prepared mentally and physically.”

To earn a spot in the London Olympics in late July, Manning must advance through two rounds of preliminary heats with 31 other competitors and finish among the top three of the Saturday final.

That’s a hurdle-high task considering Manning’s lack of experience and youth — she turned 22 three weeks ago — and the fact that her competition will include 2008 Olympic champion Dawn Harper, 2011 U.S. champion Kellie Wells and 2008 Olympian Lolo Jones.

Still, Manning had the nation’s best time (12.68 seconds) for much of the spring (as well as a wind-aided 12.57) before Wells recently ran 12.55. The precocious Manning is ranked fourth in the U.S. by Track and Field News.

Asked if Manning can make this year’s Olympic team, Dennis said, “I can’t say it’s probable, but I will say there is a strong possibility.”

There are plenty of reasons for Manning’s soaring confidence. The native of Waldorf, Md., went undefeated in indoor and outdoor competition as a senior while being named Big Ten Track Athlete of the Year both seasons, as well as earning the award for Big Ten Female Athlete of the Year.

Her NCAA title (in a time of 12.89 seconds) was just the second in OSU women’s outdoor track history, including Donica Merriman’s 2001 championship in the 100-meter hurdles. Manning also won an NCAA indoor title in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 7.91 seconds that was fourth-fastest in collegiate history.

“A lot of times, women put themselves into a pecking order,” Dennis said. “They’ll say, ‘Well, I’m not as good as her,’ to lower their own self-esteem and embolden someone else.

“Christina doesn’t do that. Christina races people. She gets excited about racing good people. Some people have talent but cower at being on the line with the best. Christina gets excited about it. That separates her from other good athletes.”

Manning has never faced athletes of the caliber she’ll face in Wells, Harper, Jones and other professionals in Eugene. She is not intimidated.

“I’ve never been scared of my competition,” said Manning, who holds four OSU records. “That’s how I am and how I was raised.”

Her drive stems from being the youngest of three children. She wasn’t afraid to stick up for herself or to take risks, once even jumping off the roof of her two-story townhouse onto a trampoline at age 8 while playing Batman and Robin with her brother.

Manning’s confidence belies her soft-spoken nature.

“She has a ferociousness about her that’s not overt until she gets on the track,” Dennis said.

It was evident on the eve of her trip to Eugene. Why wait until 2016?

“I’m very determined to make the USA team,” Manning said. “There is no fun as far as going to the Trials. This is strictly business. This is now a reality that I can make happen, so it’s a goal I have to meet.”